GB2147093A

GB2147093A - Domestic refrigerator with electric illuminating means

Info

Publication number: GB2147093A
Application number: GB08424303A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Blanquet Georg Von
Original assignee: Gaggenau Werke Haus und Lufttechnik GmbH
Current assignee: Gaggenau Werke Haus und Lufttechnik GmbH
Priority date: 1983-09-28
Filing date: 1984-09-26
Publication date: 1985-05-01
Also published as: GB2147093B; DE3335067A1; GB8424303D0; DE3335067C2; FR2552533B1; FR2552533A1

Abstract

A domestic refrigerator has electric illuminating means for the interior providing improved distribution of light, the illuminating means comprising a light box 4 extending between the inner surfaces 2 and 3 of the side walls. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Domestic refrigerator with electric illuminating means The invention concerns a domestic refrigerator with electric illuminating means for the interior.

It is known to accommodate the electric illuminating means of domestic refrigerators, together with temperature-setting components, in a box-like housing and to secure the illuminating means to an inner surface of a side wall. When the illuminating means is fitted in this way, and particularly when the interior of the refrigerator is filled to a large extent, the light is distributed in an inefficient manner and, in particular, the goods stored in the lower pull-out containers commonly provided are not sufficiently well illuminated.

DE-PS 934 833 discloses an illuminating means for the interior of a refrigerator wherein light-conducting or light-emitting overlays are provided on the inner surfaces of the walls of the interior, light from a light source located outside the refrigerated compartment being passed to these overlays. In one arrangement, the light from a glow-discharge or gas-discharge lamps is concentrated by means of mirrors on the surfaces of the lateral walls of the interior, which walls are covered with light-scattering plates or foils. Although such illuminating means improve the distribution of light in the interior, they are costly to produce and can be incorporated in the normal production cycle only with considerable difficulty.

The object of the present invention is to design a domestic refrigerator comprising electric illuminating means for the interior in such a way that light is distributed in an advantageous manner while at the same time the components of the illuminating means are of simple form and can be easily fitted.

This object is achieved in a domestic refrigerator comprising electric illuminating means for the interior, wherein the illuminating means is formed by a light box extending between the inner surfaces of the side walls of the refrigerator.

Such light box which is conveniently made of transparent or translucent plastics material and may be of parallelipiped shape contains one or more lights and the appropriate electric connections. It can be arranged at different levels in the interior, and several such boxes can be provided. In an advantageous arrangement, the light box has a platform surface which can be illuminated. This is advantageously disposed below further platform surfaces or shelves in the form of grids, for example.

It is of course not necessary for the light box to bear directly against the inner surface of the side walls, though for manufacturing and design reasons such an arrangement is generally preferred.

In an advantageous form of construction, pull-out containers are arranged below the light box, and the fronts of these are made of a transparent or translucent material. In general, such containers, intended to accommodated vegetables and fruit, are produced as one-piece shaped plastics parts with suitable grips.

Suitably the light box has a lesser depth than that of the free interior of the refrigerator, and the containers, arranged below the light box, are provided with inclined front portions. With an arrangement of this kind, troublesome reflections on the surfaces of the front portions are avoided, and the goods stored in the containers are efficiently illuminated and can be clearly seen.

An advantageous configuration is obtained if the light box is formed by a horizontally disposed parallelipiped having a transparent or translucent top, front and bottom.

Use of the features of the invention results in the provision of a domestic refrigerator, the lighting means of which provides efficient distribution of light and enables the cost of production to be kept low; the particularly good distribution of light enables all the contents of the refrigerator to be easily identified, and the refrigerator also has an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

The accompanying drawing is a diagrammatic perspective view of an embodiment of a domestic refrigerator according to the invention, the door thereof being shown open.

A horizontally disposed light box 4 is arranged in the lower part of the free interior of a refrigerator housing 1 and between side-wall surfaces 2 and 3. The light box 4 extends between the two side-wall surfaces 2 and 3 and is of shallow parallelipiped form, the depth of which is approximately three-quarters of the depth of the free interior. At its top, the light box 4 forms a platform surface which can be illuminated and the light rays from which pass upwardly through a shelf grid 6.

The lower lighting surface 7 of the light box 4 faces the open interior of two pull-out containers 8 and 9, which are provided with inclined front portions.

The light box 4 and the containers 8 and 9 consist of one-piece shaped plastics parts; a transparent or translucent material resembling frosted glass is used for the light box 4, while for the containers 8 and 9 use is made of a clear transparent material or of a translucent material, tinted in the known manner.

1. A domestic refrigerator comprising electric illuminating means for the interior, wherein the illuminating means is formed by a light box extending between the inner surfaces of the side walls of the refrigerator.

2. A refrigerator according to Claim 1, wherein the light box comprises a platform

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Domestic refrigerator with electric illuminating means The invention concerns a domestic refrigerator with electric illuminating means for the interior. It is known to accommodate the electric illuminating means of domestic refrigerators, together with temperature-setting components, in a box-like housing and to secure the illuminating means to an inner surface of a side wall. When the illuminating means is fitted in this way, and particularly when the interior of the refrigerator is filled to a large extent, the light is distributed in an inefficient manner and, in particular, the goods stored in the lower pull-out containers commonly provided are not sufficiently well illuminated. DE-PS 934 833 discloses an illuminating means for the interior of a refrigerator wherein light-conducting or light-emitting overlays are provided on the inner surfaces of the walls of the interior, light from a light source located outside the refrigerated compartment being passed to these overlays. In one arrangement, the light from a glow-discharge or gas-discharge lamps is concentrated by means of mirrors on the surfaces of the lateral walls of the interior, which walls are covered with light-scattering plates or foils. Although such illuminating means improve the distribution of light in the interior, they are costly to produce and can be incorporated in the normal production cycle only with considerable difficulty. The object of the present invention is to design a domestic refrigerator comprising electric illuminating means for the interior in such a way that light is distributed in an advantageous manner while at the same time the components of the illuminating means are of simple form and can be easily fitted. This object is achieved in a domestic refrigerator comprising electric illuminating means for the interior, wherein the illuminating means is formed by a light box extending between the inner surfaces of the side walls of the refrigerator. Such light box which is conveniently made of transparent or translucent plastics material and may be of parallelipiped shape contains one or more lights and the appropriate electric connections. It can be arranged at different levels in the interior, and several such boxes can be provided. In an advantageous arrangement, the light box has a platform surface which can be illuminated. This is advantageously disposed below further platform surfaces or shelves in the form of grids, for example. It is of course not necessary for the light box to bear directly against the inner surface of the side walls, though for manufacturing and design reasons such an arrangement is generally preferred. In an advantageous form of construction, pull-out containers are arranged below the light box, and the fronts of these are made of a transparent or translucent material. In general, such containers, intended to accommodated vegetables and fruit, are produced as one-piece shaped plastics parts with suitable grips. Suitably the light box has a lesser depth than that of the free interior of the refrigerator, and the containers, arranged below the light box, are provided with inclined front portions. With an arrangement of this kind, troublesome reflections on the surfaces of the front portions are avoided, and the goods stored in the containers are efficiently illuminated and can be clearly seen. An advantageous configuration is obtained if the light box is formed by a horizontally disposed parallelipiped having a transparent or translucent top, front and bottom. Use of the features of the invention results in the provision of a domestic refrigerator, the lighting means of which provides efficient distribution of light and enables the cost of production to be kept low; the particularly good distribution of light enables all the contents of the refrigerator to be easily identified, and the refrigerator also has an aesthetically pleasing appearance. The accompanying drawing is a diagrammatic perspective view of an embodiment of a domestic refrigerator according to the invention, the door thereof being shown open. A horizontally disposed light box 4 is arranged in the lower part of the free interior of a refrigerator housing 1 and between side-wall surfaces 2 and 3. The light box 4 extends between the two side-wall surfaces 2 and 3 and is of shallow parallelipiped form, the depth of which is approximately three-quarters of the depth of the free interior. At its top, the light box 4 forms a platform surface which can be illuminated and the light rays from which pass upwardly through a shelf grid 6. The lower lighting surface 7 of the light box 4 faces the open interior of two pull-out containers 8 and 9, which are provided with inclined front portions. The light box 4 and the containers 8 and 9 consist of one-piece shaped plastics parts; a transparent or translucent material resembling frosted glass is used for the light box 4, while for the containers 8 and 9 use is made of a clear transparent material or of a translucent material, tinted in the known manner. CLAIMS

2. A refrigerator according to Claim 1, wherein the light box comprises a platform surface which can be illuminated.

3. A refrigerator according to Claim 1 or 2, including pull-out containers arranged below the light box and at least the fronts of the containers consist of a transparent or translucent material.

4. A refrigerator according to Claim 3, wherein the light box has a lesser depth than the free interior of the refrigerator, and the containers have inclined front portions.

5. A refrigerator according to Claim 1, wherein the light box is by a horizontally disposed parallelipiped having a transparent or translucent top, front and bottom.

6. A domestic refrigerator substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.